Andrew Akufo wants to expand public outreach
A painter by training, Andrew Akufo found that he also has an aptitude for business and administration.
“I had a game plan even when I was in college,” he said. “I went to school as a visual artist — I’m a painter — but marketing and business is part of the education of an artist.”
As a painter of vivid landscapes and images of the American West, Akufo is represented by galleries in his native Oklahoma and in Arizona and has studied, painted and shown internationally.
On March 12, he started a new job, as the first-ever executive director of the Healdsburg Center for the Arts. “We’re very happy to have him,” said Diana Jameson, president of the board of the organization.
Akufo is from Oklahoma. After graduating with a BFA from the University of Central Oklahoma, Akufo sought to parlay his business aptitude into a role that would be compatible with life as a painter. He ended up in Hobbs, New Mexico, as the executive director of the Lea County Commission for the Arts.
Jameson said the HCA board made a decision to hire a professional exec. “This has been on the board’s radar for a long time,” she said. “Andrew will be able to do things a volunteer board can’t. He’ll be writing grants, working with donors, marketing our work — he’ll be the face of the organization.”
Akufo says his work in New Mexico involved partnering with other community institutions. “I’m very community oriented,” he said. “I’m used to working with partner organizations, nonprofits and local government.”
He believes that Healdsburg Center for the Arts has the potential to take more of a leading and convening role in the arts. “I want us to work more closely with performing arts groups and I’d like to see more public art. I hope that when tourists come to town for the wine they can discover the vibrancy of the community and the art.”
Akufo also says that local galleries can work more cooperatively. “We have 22 art galleries in Healdsburg. Let’s do more to work together and work with other communities to cross-promote our artists.”
Akufo and the arts center board have an ambitious agenda. In addition to marketing, public relations and fundraising, they hope to expand public art events, a more recent venture for the arts center.
“With everything we’ve done in the past year, it’s time,” said Jameson. “We have a track record of doing good things, but we can’t expand without staff.”
Is part of his job as a fundraiser to generate enough funding to cover his own salary? “I’m used to that,” Akufo smiled. “I’m an artist.”
